Term 3: Resources

Oil

Oil running out faster than predicted, according to top energy expert

August 3, 12:34 PM
The world faces a "catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production," according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris.

The IEA is recognized as one of the world's most authoritative sources of information on energy security and climate change. In today's Independent, IEA Chief Economist Dr. Fatih Birol warned of the following:
Many governments are "oblivious to the fact that the oil on which modern civilization depends is running out far faster than previously predicted."

• The first detailed assessment of more than 800 oil fields (three quarters of global reserves) indicates most of the biggest fields have already peaked.
• Oil production is declining at almost twice as fast as it was two years ago.
• Under-investment by oil-producing countries will result in an "oil crunch" within the next five years, thwarting recovery from the global economic recession.

Dr. Birol said, "The market power of the very few oil-producing countries, mainly in the Middle East, will increase very quickly. They already have about 40 per cent share of the oil market and this will increase much more strongly in the future."
Whether in farming, transportation, mass-communications, pharmaceuticals, national security--energy invigorates culture and society. Depending on the degree of disruption to supply, civilization could incur possibly catastrophic forms of collapse.

Source: The Independent

Lesson 06/08/09:

We watched a video about the geo-political effects of the price of oil. The video was called "Energy Wars" (Cutting Edge, SBS)
We talked about Peak Oil, took some notes and discussed the effects of more expensive oil on the world's economies, and conflicts.

Peak oil: the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.

C02 Sequestration is being touted as a way to clean up coal

What is clean coal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goVXD4D1y5k
http://science.howstuffworks.com/clean-coal.htm

Al Gore on Clean Coal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-jpOq3ytU

Download the Coal Powerpoint: coal.ppt

"Clean coal” is an industry term which refers to increasing the efficiency of coal mining, making power plants which use coal for energy generation more environmentally friendly, and/or making coal itself more fuel efficient and clean burning. Since coal contributes a large volume of carbon dioxide to the Earth's atmosphere every year, the idea of cleaning up coal is quite appealing to many consumers and governments. In any discussion of clean coal, it is important to remember that carbon dioxide is still released in the environment when coal is used for fuel, and other harmful emissions are created as well. In addition, since coal is a fossil fuel, ultimately the world's coal reserves may be exhausted.

Many environmentalists term the concept of clean coal “greenwashing,” meaning that companies are using the concept to make themselves look better. They argue that since coal is a fossil fuel, investing in cleaner coal technology is not as sound as investment in renewable energy. However, most environmentalists would also agree that if coal is going to be used as a fuel, it might as well be used cleanly.

The creation of coal started millions of years ago, when decaying plant and animal matter began to compress, ultimately forming the world's coal and petroleum deposits. Coal has been utilized as a fossil fuel for centuries, ever since humans realized that the substance was burnable. It naturally appears in large deposits of brownish to black flaky material, which are mined in large volumes.

Coal mining and processing can lead to pollution, just as many industrial processes do. Making the mining process more clean and efficient is one way to create clean coal. In addition, many countries now chemically wash their coal to remove some impurities. Removing these impurities before burning ensures that they will not be released into the atmosphere, although the chemicals and impurities still need to be appropriately dealt with so that they do not enter the environment.
Since most modern coal is burned in power plants to generate electricity, making power plants cleaner and more efficient is an important part of clean coal as well. Coal burning power plants are often old and highly inefficient, since coal is cheap and readily available, making increased efficiency not financially logical. Many countries have started to mandate that power plants scrub the air in their exhaust stacks with filters before releasing it, and that power companies take steps to make sure that the energy in coal is fully utilized when it is burned.
(Source)

Lesson 30/07/09 + 03/08/09

Read the newspaper article: Victoria takes out 'dirtiest state' title.
Answer these questions. If you do them on your computer, make sure you print off the answers and stick them in your workbook, together with the article.

1. Dirtiest state according to whom? How do they define dirty?
2. Dirtiest state compared to whom? According to their definition of ‘dirty’, is the competition much cleaner? Explain your answer.
3. Why, according to Rupert Posner, is the finding a ‘wake-up call’? What do we/they need to wake up to?
4. What do you think Mark Wakeham means when he claims that Victoria is on an ‘unsustainable path’?
5. Why is brown coal worse than black coal?
6. Look at the graphs (Graphs are on newspaper version only, they are not online. Skip this question) Compare Victoria and NSW. Comment on the relationship between the resources that each state uses to generate electricity and their ‘Greenhouse Intensity’ (tonnes of greenhouse gas emitted per 100 MWH). Explain – why does one state emits so much more than the other?
7. Why does Mark Wakeham believe that Victoria needs to ‘take action very quickly’? Is it our responsibility? Why?
8. What alternatives to coal generation are mentioned? Are they realistic? Why/why not?

General links:

Geoscience Australia: http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/mapping/index.jsp
See it on Google Earth! Operating Mines in Australia (2007).kmz

Uranium

http://www.science.org.au/nova/002/002key.htm
http://www.science.org.au/nova/002/002sit.htm
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf48.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/14/2625904.htm